Sierra Christensen

A02245064

#MeToo Movement

The Ninth Amendment guarantees the people “certain rights not enumerated by the

Constitution”.1 One of these rights is the right to basic safety. The #MeToo Movement is a

national event that has been bringing attention to the violation of these basic safety rights. The

#MeToo Movement is a great example of Americans proving that there are other rights not

explicitly stated in the constitution that should be protected and that other guaranteed rights

should not be able to disparage those other rights: one of which is basic safety in the workplace

and established places of business.

In locations such as workplaces and places in the service industry, where public civility

can be controlled without breaching the privacy rights of citizens, basic protection against

harassment and assault should be considered as protected under the Bill of Rights. While most

companies have harassment policies in place, there is a lot of social whiplash for victims when

they speak up, especially against high-profile predators.

Donald Trump accusers are a perfect example of such whiplash. The 19 women who

have come forward since the 1980’s have all been defamed as liars and been told they would be

sued by Trump when he became President.2 Most of these women were present in dressing

rooms during multiple Miss USA pageants that Trump owned, were on his NBC show, “The

Apprentice”, or at a place of business when they were either harassed or attacked. Such

1
Cornell, “The Ninth Amendment”
2
Ford, M. "​The 19 Women Who Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct​" pg. 1
victim-attacking is preventing the protection of outspoken and silent victims of workplace

harassment and attacks.

The #MeToo Movement was started by Tarana Burke in 2006 in order to

“bring vital conversations about sexual violence into the mainstream, de-stigmatize survivors…

aid the fight to end sexual violence, and disrupt all systems that allow sexual violence to

flourish.”3 This movement really only became popular during the allegations against Trump in

his presidential campaign in 2016, and again with the Harvey Weinstein allegations in 2017,

when the accusers, who have been doing so for over 30 years attached the hashtag “MeToo” to

their previous statements.

This movement is not about achieving a certain amount of followers or contributors, but

about how society should view sexual and gender-based violence as a social justice issue instead

of anything less serious.4 Burke, as the founder of the movement, wants to take the viral

momentum it has accumulated and use it to jumpstart actual change. If that is not constitutional,

nothing is. These people want to take their lack of safety and secure that safety for generations to

come. This is exactly what the Constitution did when the United States declared and earned their

freedom from the British Empire.

Some worry about false accusations from victims who are knowingly slandering potential

predators without reason. Inaccurately sullying a person is not speech protected by the first

amendment, and some think the #MeToo movement is allowing people a platform in which to

effectively defame another in an extreme way.

3
Burke. T “You Are Not Alone” ❡13
4
Santiago. C ”“An Activist, a Little Girl and the Heartbreaking Origin of 'Me Too'.” pg.1
 However, the ninth amendment has another component. It also states that enumerated

rights shall not be allowed to deny unspecified rights. This means that even if some accusers are

lying consciously, that that “if” does not demean the whole movement, nor justify calling it

unconstitutional. People say the #MeToo movement is getting out of hand because of differing

opinions about where the line is between sexual violence and miscommunication between sexual

partners.

Yet this debate is irrelevant when considering the millions of men and women5 who have

come forward with their stories, who can find safety and healing in the #MeToo community and

who can lead to a better, safer future through their experiences.

This hope and willingness to put in the work to change the culture of sexual misconduct

and discrimination that is clearly rampant in American society today is remarkable. This fight for

safety for future generations of victims through the #MeToo movement is undoubtedly done in

the spirit of the Constitution, specifically through the unmentioned rights of the people protected

by the ninth amendment.

5
Santiago. C ”“An Activist, a Little Girl and the Heartbreaking Origin of 'Me Too'.” pg.1
 Works Cited

Burke, Tarana. “You Are Not Alone.” Me Too, Tarana Burke, 2006, metoomvmt.org/

Cornell, Staff LII. “Ninth Amendment.” LII / Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law.

School, 5 Feb. 2010, www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/ninth_amendment.

Ford, Matt. "The 19 Women Who Accused President Trump of Sexual Misconduct". The

Atlantic. Published December 7, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2018.

Santiago, Cassandra, and Doug Criss. “An Activist, a Little Girl and the Heartbreaking

Origin of 'Me Too'.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Oct. 2017, www.cnn.com/

2017 /10/17/us/me-too-tarana-burke-origin-trnd/index.html.